Broken
by mashimoshi
Summary: The team takes a job that has to do with their hitter's past with the military. Eliot tries to keep it all a secret, but ends up getting caught up with his old life. And that might officially break the poor man.
1. Chapter 1

**Broken**

 **The team takes a job that has to do with their hitter's past with the military. Eliot tries to keep it all a secret, but ends up getting caught up with his old life. And that might officially break the poor man.**

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 **I know I haven't written in forever, but I have been getting a HUGE writers blocks! I want to thank you whimseyrhodes for helping me with this story! You are one of my favorite authors and inspirations to writing, and I am so glad I asked you for help. I hope you enjoy this story! Byeeeeeeeeeeee!**

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"Tony Adler," Nate began.

At those words, Eliot looked up and tensed, his hands gripping the papers Hardison had handed out as he stared at the picture of the man that popped up on the screen. He was in his mid-thirties, had short blond hair, brown eyes, angular cheekbones, and thin lips. He was wearing a black suit, which made him look very classy and much older than he actually was, even though the team could easily read right through him.

"Tony Adler is world famous interrogator," the mastermind continued. "He is most known for his punishments and torture sessions. About twenty years ago, there was some kind of an incident and he escaped with no arm. No one knows what happened next, although some believe he got a bionic arm."

The rest of Nate's words were muted. Eliot felt himself shudder, the memories of that wretched man coming back to him. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, which made him flinch. He looked up and saw Sophie staring at him, her expression full of worry. Eliot shook his head, as if trying to tell her he was okay.

"... Parker and Eliot, you two will go to Adler's party. You will pose as a married couple, and will try to learn everything you can about Adler. Got it?" Nate was saying, which made Eliot listen again.  
Parker and Eliot exchanged glances, and looked back to Nate and nodded.

"We'll all sleep here tonight. I want to start this job first thing in the morning."

Everyone nodded.  
When the briefing finally ended, Eliot went into the kitchen, beginning to make dinner. The repetitive chopping and dicing calmed his mind, and the scents helped to ease the tension that had gathered in his shoulders. Within an hour, the food was served and after a quiet meal, everyone found their own spaces to bunk down and sleep.

Eliot walked into the guest bathroom and turned on the cold water. Splashing some on his face, he turned the water off and walked to his bed. He sat down for a few moments, just enjoying the silence. He sighed, pulling off his shirt and crawled under the covers, trying to get some sleep. This was going to be a long job.

After many hours of nonstop tossing and turning, Eliot finally managed to fall asleep.

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On the next day, he and Parker were sent into Tony Adler's party.

The two of them stood in front of the huge mansion, gawking at the beautiful building.

"Let's just get this over with." Eliot huffed, tearing his eyes off the house and onto the entrance.

Parker nodded, taking out two fake wedding bands from her bag and handing one to Eliot, who put it onto his ring finger. Parker did the same. They walked into the building hand in hand, showed their invitations to the guards and went in.

Parker clung to Eliot, the huge amounts of people made her want to stab someone.

"And no stabbing, Parker," Eliot said, as if reading her mind. "Please."

The young woman smiled stiffly at him, taking his hand. He could feel the tension in her grip as she fought her instincts to flee or find something sharp to defend herself with. He squeezed her hand gently.

"Ah, and who are you two?" a familiar voice said.

The 'couple' turned around, and Eliot's mouth opened when seeing Tony Adler himself in front of him. He was wearing yet another black suit, his blond hair was slicked back.

Eliot immediately pulled himself out of his daze and smiled. "Mark Cosby," he began. "And this is my wife, Lara Cosby. We were actually here to make a deal with you."

Adler nodded, looking at Parker with caution.

"Quite a woman you've got there," he said. "You must love sharing a bed with her."

Eliot could feel Parker tense up, and he quickly reacted by pulling her closer to him. All he was able to do was smile and nod.

"So what do you need?" Adler asked.

"We have certain things that might interest you," Eliot explained. "If we could talk somewhere private, my wife and I can explain what we have."

Adler nodded. "Come with me."

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Adler gestured the two into an office, where Eliot and Parker used the information Hardison had found to hook Adler into working with them. When the meeting ended, Adler had agreed to work with them, since they had what they wanted.

"It was wonderful doing business with you two," Adler said, shaking Eliot's hand. "I look forward to working with you again soon."

With that, he closed the door to his office, leaving Parker and Eliot alone.

"Finally," Parker said, sighing. "I swear if I have to spend anymore time with that bastard I'm gonna stab someone."

"Come on now, darlin'. No stabbing anybody." Eliot said, beginning to lead her out of the mansion. He wondered if Adler had recognized him from so many years ago, but he just didn't know. The man hadn't given any signs of recognition, and Eliot had changed after so many years.

But while on their way to their car, Eliot saw guards following them.

"Parker, make sure you stay behind me at all times." he whispered into her ear, turning around to face the men. "What do you want?" he asked

The man in the middle smiled. "Mr. Adler wants to catch up."

"Parker run." he muttered.

The thief shivered and held tighter to the hitter, but Eliot shook her off, pushing her in the direction of the car.

He watched Parker leave, then turned to the guards. "If Adler wants me," he said coldly, dropping into a fighting stance. "He's gonna have to try and get to me first."

He waited for the men to circle him, not taking his eyes off of any of them. Finally, one of them lunged at him. Eliot dodged, letting the fight begin.

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Eliot knew that he had to stay on high alert. Anything could happen with Adler and his men. As he was dodging attacks, he made sure his breathing was steady, and he was on his game.

Suddenly, he felt someone kick his ribs, the impact sending him flying onto the ground. Strong punches were being delivered to his upper body and face. A foot slammed into his kidney and he arched back, his entire body locked in agony, but the men kept on beating and kicking him until he lay in the dirt, a trembling, bloody mess.

The men grabbed the hitter and pulled him up, forcing him into a truck. Eliot didn't resist; he was in no shape to do anything.

In the distance, Parker watched what was happening to Eliot, chewing on her lip as her fingers clawed into the steering wheel. She cried out when she saw Eliot nearly beaten to death. And then in seconds, he was shoved into a truck and drove away. Parker sat still in the front seat of the car, staring at the ground, where she could see Eliot's blood seeping into the old cement.

After a few moments, she shook her head, turning on the car and beginning to make her way to the HQ. When she finally arrived at the office, she barged through the door, calling out for her teammates.

"Parker, what's wrong?" Sophie asked, walking into the main room.

"Adler kidnapped Eliot!" Parker screamed, feeling tears stream down her cheeks.

"What?" Sophie asked.

Hearing her agitated voice, Hardison and Nate hurriedly walked in as Sophie quickly sat Parker down on the couch.

"Tell us what happened, sweetheart." she said, taking her hand.

So Parker explained everything that had happened with Eliot, Adler, and his men. When she finished, she burst into tears.

"We need to find Eliot!" she said, wiping away the tears.

"I know, Parker." Sophie said, pulling her into a hug.

"And we will," Nate finished. "You can count on that."

The mastermind turned to Hardison. "Hardison, can you try and track him? And track Adler as well."

"You got it." Hardison said, standing up and walking over to his computer.

"We will find him, Parker," Sophie said, giving Parker a light squeeze. "I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter! I hope you enjoy! Another huge thank you to whimseyrhodes for taking the time to help me! Please make sure to read and review. Byeeeeeeeeee! ;)**

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As Eliot lay in the truck, his entire body ached. At every pothole, at every sudden stop, he had to hold in a groan. The men drove for hours, and in time, Eliot decided to meditate, knowing that he would need energy for what was going to come next.

Adler would most likely torture him, like he had before. Only that was twenty years ago, and Eliot managed to escape, also managing to incapacitate Adler's arm. Later on, he heard that the man had gotten a bionic one, and actually became stronger than before. The thoughts of his past brought shivers up and down Eliot's spine.

Eliot was back on high alert when he heard screeching doors and then a burst of sunlight entered the dark space. He squinted at the sudden brightness, raising his hands to block out the light. Hands grabbed onto his wrists and pulled him out of the vehicle, searching him. One man found a pocket knife in his boot; he used the weapon to make a slice into Eliot's shirt, the sharp edge cutting his skin. Eliot glared at the guard but didn't dare show any emotion.

The men then put shackles on his wrists and ankles and began to lead him into a huge warehouse. He was taken underground, and Eliot saw racks of all types of weapons hanging on the walls. He swallowed, feeling sweat inching down his neck.

He was shoved onto the ground, his ribs not agreeing with the fall. Eliot grunted slightly.

He stood up, and saw a man walking up to him. He recognized the man as Tony Adler and he scowled.

"Eliot Spencer!" the man exclaimed, a false smile lighting his face. "It's so nice to see you again. I knew you looked familiar when I saw you with that woman! Are you two even a couple?" he asked, grinning.

"Go to Hell." Eliot whispered, staring at the man with pure hatred.

"Now come on, Eliot. That's now how you treat an old friend." Adler mused.

Suddenly, he lashed out and punched Eliot. The hitter's head snapped back and stars exploded behind his eyes, stealing the breath from his lungs. He gasped, the pain unlike any other. His eyes watered as he looked up, realizing that Adler had used his bionic arm to hit him, which was made of metal.

"Oh and I'd like to thank you for doing this to me," Adler said, raising his fake arm as if to show what had happened to him. He flexed his forearm and wiggled his fingers, waving the hand around and admiring the way it moved. "You gave me a new life when you took away my arm."

Eliot decided to stay silent.

"But you also brutally embarrassed me," he continued, his voice and eyes turning dark. "Because of you, I was no longer known as the best interrogar in the world. Ever since you escaped, I was known as someone who couldn't get his job done. And all because you managed to escape, although I don't know how you even managed to survive everything I put you through." He finally stopped, signaling a man to come closer. "Now let's see if you can survive through this." he said.

The man Adler had signaled pulled Eliot backwards and chained the struggling hitter to a wall. He took out a dagger from his belt, using it to caress Eliot's body.

Eliot felt the first cut slice from his temple to his neck, the blood beginning to fall down his face. The next cut went from his chest to his stomach, this time deeper than before.

A gasp escaped him and he closed his eyes. The pain slid into his stomach and he clenched his teeth, feeling the warm blood drip down his chest. He heard the sound of metal against ground, and realized that the man had thrown away the dagger.

Daring to take a deeper breath, he opened his eyes. Adler had disappeared and Eliot's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out where the man had gone. All of a sudden, he felt a touch to his side and a current of electricity flew into his body. He gasped, his body arching as it tried to get away from the pain, though he refused to let out any more than that. The current ricocheted through his body, making him jerk and convulse. Finally, it stopped.

Eliot gasped, trying to take deep breaths, his body still trembling with aftershocks. He felt himself being let down from the chains and he went with it, his body limp. Once falling onto the ground, Eliot curled up into himself, shivering.

He felt more current flow into him, and he couldn't help but let out a low moan. His vision began to fail him, white stars and circles beginning to form in the backs of his eyes. After about a minute- but to Eliot, it seemed like hours- the electricity was turned off.  
Eliot's breathing turned into labored gasps. Sweat dripped from his skin onto the concrete under him, exhaustion taking its toll against the poor man.

More electricity.

'Oh god, just make it stop,' Eliot thought, clenching his hands into fists. 'Please, just make it all stop.'

The electricity went on for much longer this time, until finally, Eliot couldn't hold on any longer. He screamed, his eyes rolling into his head, darkness taking over him. He felt himself getting chained up again, unable to fight back in any way. Slowly, the darkness fully took over him, and he no longer felt anything.

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The HQ

"Hardison, did you find anything yet?" Nate asked, walking over to the hacker and staring at the multiple computers in front of him.

"No, not yet," Hardison replied, not taking his eyes off of his computers. "Adler made sure he was untraceable. At the moment, we have no way to find either of them. I need a little more time."

Nate nodded. "Alright, just tell me when you have something."

"You know I will." the young man replied.

Nate smiled, walking over to Sophie, who was sitting on the couch, clearly deep in thought.

"You alright?" he asked her.

Sophie looked up, giving him a weak smile. "Just… worried."

"Me too, Soph," Nate replied. "Me too." He looked up at her. "So how's Parker?" he asked.

"Hasn't left her room," Sophie answered, sighing. "I have a feeling she feels guilty for all of this."

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Parker lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Parker run." he had told her. Those two words kept replaying in her head, not allowing her to get any rest.

She remembered how Eliot looked at her when saying those sad words. Terror, sorrow, and worry were clearly shown in those beautiful blue eyes of his. God she missed those eyes.

She wanted Eliot to be right next to her, telling her how crazy she was, how weird and messed up she was. She wished all of this was a dream, a terrible nightmare that she just couldn't get out of.

Finally, she managed to fall asleep, everything that Eliot had said to her ringing in her ears.


	3. Chapter 3

**Third Chapter! Yayyyyyy! Another big thank you to whimseyrhodes for helping me with this fic.**

 **This chapter involves a little violence, not too much but it's still something. So, if you don't like that kind of stuff then just skip the parts you don't want to read. Enjoy! Byeeeeeeeee! ;)**

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A bucket of ice cold water was thrown on Eliot's head, waking the hitter up. Eliot gasped, coughing and sputtering out water. He threw his hair out of his eyes, beginning to shiver. He tried to move and panicked for a moment until he found himself chained to a chair.

"Good morning, Spencer," Adler happily said. "I hope you… slept well."

Eliot looked up, glaring at the man in front of him. Adler smirked.

"Have you been wondering where your team is?" he asked, signaling his men.

All of a sudden, familiar voices and screams filled the room.

"Eliot!" he heard Sophie call, her voice confused, and then a higher, younger scream that could only have been Parker. Then Hardison's voice called out, "Nate! Eliot!" Gunshots were heard, as well as more screams.

"You bastard!" Eliot screamed, struggling out of the chair. "Let go of them!"

Adler chuckled and signaled again and the voices over the intercom stopped. "Not until I'm done with you." he said quietly, suddenly punching Eliot in the ribs.

The hitter wheezed as Adler's fist slammed into his stomach and he heard a rib crack under the pressure. He spat out a mouthful of blood, managing to open his eyes enough to look daggers up at his enemy through his soaked bangs.

He was pulled from the chair, and dragged to a new room. Adler's men pushed him into the room, slamming the metal door shut as they left. As Eliot slumped on the ground, his teammates' voices echoed in his mind.

He finally managed to sit up, his arm wrapping around his stomach. He sat up against the wall, closing his eyes. He felt the water drip down his face and body, making him shiver. He opened his eyes, his mind spinning, and let his head drop back against the wall.

He quickly closed his eyes again, sighing. Against his will, he began to remember the last time he'd seen Tony Adler, world class interrogator. Although, at the time, Eliot had put him into the category of sadistic bastard. He'd endured nearly two months under Adler's 'care', suffering from exhaustion and deprivation, both of food and water, and of dignity. The interrogator had stripped him of all clothing, one of the most basic of tortures-keep your victim embarrassed and psychologically as well as physically naked. That had cured Eliot of any body shyness he'd had. He'd put Eliot in stress positions for hours on end, his arms strapped over poles across his back, or his wrists held up behind his back so high that he had to stand on his toes to keep his shoulders from dislocating. In the end, they'd been dis- and re-located half a dozen times, and they still acted up on a regular basis. The bastard had kept him chained at all times in a dank cell, the cold and wet seeping into his bones and finally giving him a severe case of pneumonia. To this day Eliot had a tendency to get bronchitis more often than he liked.

Those two months proved to be the worst two months of his life, and he told himself he would never go back to those god awful memories ever again, putting them in a box in the back of his mind where his other nightmares lived.

It had been a total miracle when he finally managed to escape. He had lost it; he'd dislocated his thumb in order to slip out of his chains, jumping onto Adler. He punched him with all his might, until finally, Adler had blacked out. When done, he fell onto his knees, taking deep and painful breaths.

Looking up from the bloody mess of Adler's body, Eliot was distantly surprised at the man's overconfidence in leaving his cell door open. Pushing himself up to a standing position, he stumbled to the door, his hand propping himself upright against the wall. He listened for a moment before walking out into the hallway, going into total survival mode, even throughout the pain and exhaustion. Eliot didn't see or hear any of Adler's goons walking toward him, so he chanced moving forward toward the stairs.

Something caught his eye and he paused, looking to his right. He saw a small cupboard, a room barely enough to turn around in, with boxes stacked up to the ceiling. C4. Nitro. Blasting Caps. He couldn't believe his luck.

Reaching up was hell on his ribs, but he grabbed onto the top box, hoping it wouldn't fall on his head, and lifted it down. His entire body screamed at him but he held back the howl and managed to bend to his knees and set it gently onto the floor. It wouldn't do him any good if he blew himself up. Opening the box, he saw a few stacks of C4 arranged neatly on one side, blasting caps on the other. He grabbed what he could and made for the stairs once more.

No one met him on the stairs and he stopped to set one block of the explosive on the top stair before continuing on. As much as he wanted to release his frustrations and punch his way out, he knew that the fight with Adler and the last two months had weakened him to the point where he wouldn't be able to. So instead, he slunk through the hallways, avoiding the guards whenever he heard their voices. He set two more bundles of C4 on his way out before finally reaching the front door. At that point his memories became hazy and indistinct from pain, exhaustion and blood loss, so he wasn't really sure how he managed to get to the hillside hundreds of yards from the estate when he heard the blast.

Eliot gasped out of the flashback, panting heavily. He dropped his head against the wall again, trying to bury the memories. He took a deep breath, moaning from the sudden pain. He closed his eyes, falling into another fitful sleep.

Eventually the hitter lost track of days and nights and he wasn't sure how long Adler had kept him this time. The man had once again put him into stress positions, aggravating his shoulders even more. He or one of his goons would come to Eliot's cell at random times and throw a bucket of ice water over him, waking him from sleep and Eliot was reminded more and more of his previous captivity with the sadist.

One day was a little different, when Adler had his guards drag the hitter into a different room, one with a low bench set at an angle. Eliot recognized it and made a rather pathetic attempt to escape, but being as weak as he was, he was unable to pull away, and instead strapped to the bench, his head at the bottom. One of the men covered his face with a towel and without warning he was suddenly drowning as water was poured over his head. Over and over they let him up for air, only to slap the towel over his face again. After his waterboarding session, a nearly insensate Eliot was dragged back to his cell.

After that, Adler seemed to rotate from electrocution to beating to waterboarding. The worst part of it was that he didn't want any intel, unlike the last time. He didn't ask any questions, only stood by and gloated. Eliot knew he couldn't win his way out with any information this time.

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"Hardison, you got something?" Nate asked, leaning over the hacker to take a look at his progress.

"For once I can finally say yeah," Hardison answered. "I found out where Adler lives, traced all of his emails, and text messages. Dude's been talking to a man named Greg Adler, AKA his brother. In some of their text messages, they mentioned somethin' about a warehouse. I'm guessin' Eliot's there."  
"Alright, good work," Nate said. "Can you find out where the warehouse is?"  
"Can I… Man asks me if I...of course I can!" the hacker muttered indignantly as he hunched over the keyboard.

Nate shook his head, leaving the hacker to his work and going into the kitchen for a much needed drink.

Four Hours Later...

"Nate! I found it!" Hardison yelled.

The entire team rushed into the living room, awaiting Hardison's big news.

"Eliot is in a warehouse that is actually rather close to here. About two hours away from the offices." Hardison explained.

"Well then let's go!" Parker yelled, about to run out of the office when Sophie stopped her.

"Parker, we have to figure out a plan first," she said gently, not wanting to hurt her any further.

"I don't care!" Parker replied. "Eliot's in trouble. We need to save him!"

"Parker-" Sophie tried to say.

"Eliot wouldn't wait to save us!" she yelled, running out of the building.

Sophie turned to Nate and Hardison, sighing.

"Alright." Nate said, shaking his head. "Let's go steal a hitter."

"Bout damn time," Hardison muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry this chapter took so long! This is the last chapter so I wanted to make it count. Another huge thank you to whimseyrhodes, for working with me on this fic. She will also be helping me write a sequel for this story and I'm already working on it so get ready!** **And aren't you proud of me? This chapter is over 2000 words! I've never really done that before. Yayyy!** **Don't forget to read, enjoy, and review. Byeeeeeeee!**

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Adler had a sharp knife against Eliot's neck, about to end him.

"I guess this is goodbye," he whispered into the man's ear. Eliot closed his eyes, waiting for the worst "It's been such a good ti-"

Eliot felt the tip of the knife cut his neck and then the sound of a gunshot went off, then there was silence. His eyes had still been closed, but when he opened them, he saw Adler lying on the ground, a red stain flowing over his chest.

He turned his head and saw Parker standing at the doorway of the cell, holding a gun in her shaking hands. Her wide eyes caught his and she dropped it, the metallic clang echoing in the room.

"...par...ker?" he gasped, staring at her.

"Eliot," she mumbled, immediately running over to kneel next to him.

She quickly picked the cuffs and grunted as she helped him stand up, scanning him over. Tears began streaming down her face when she saw the hitter's condition. He was staring at her, the sparkle in his eyes now gone and pain replacing it. His stance was forced, but Parker knew that from the weight he was letting her support that he was close to blacking out.

She gently ran her hands over his chest and shoulders, as if not wanting to believe that he was actually there. Suddenly she pulled Eliot to her and smashed her lips against his. Eliot gasped, but returned the kiss.

The moment lasted for a minute before Eliot and Parker pulled away, staring at each other.

"Come on," Parker whispered. "Let's get you home."

"Uh-huh," was his only reply.

Parker slung his arm over her shoulders and helped Eliot walk out of the warehouse. He practically whimpered when walking into the sunlight, raising his hand to block the light from his now-sheltered eyes. Parker guided him to Lucille, ignoring the others' reaching hands, carefully lowering him down onto a pad of blankets.

Eliot felt gentle hands on his body and he tried unsuccessfully to open his eyes.

"Hardison, how far are we from the HQ?" he heard Sophie's voice ask.

"Well, counting the traffic, about three hours." Nate replied for him.

"It's gonna be okay, Sparky," he felt Parker murmur against his temple, her soft breath gently moving his hair. Managing to open his eyes just a little, he saw a blur of gold that blocked his vision and he closed his lids again. His head lolled to the side into Parker's hands, and her fingers lightly caressed the lines on his face.

He slowly reached for her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers.

As darkness began to take over him, he let out a small smile, finally allowing himself to fall into oblivion.

In the meantime, Sophie and Parker began the long process of tending to Eliot's wounds. They had used scissors to cut the remains of his shredded shirt off, gasping at what they saw. Cuts, electrical burns, and bruises in the shape of boots covered his entire chest. The skin on his wrists was shredded and raw, and there was a rope burn around his neck. His skin was warm, too warm, and they worried about a fever as they noticed him wheezing softly with each breath.

Shaking her head, Sophie concentrated on what she _could_ fix, gently spreading ointment into the abrasions on his wrists and wrapping them with soft gauze. She did the same around his neck, her lips compressing into a tight line as she imagined what that particular injury was from. Each time he twitched or sucked in a sharp breath the grifter paused for a moment, her eyes flying to his face, but each time she was met with no response. The hitter was still heavily unconscious.

As Sophie worked on his wrists and neck, Parker tended the wounds on his chest. Her fingers rubbed the salve onto the cuts in his skin, lingering here and there as she admired the hard muscle under her hands. She wasn't surprised that Eliot's body was practically built out of bricks, but she'd never seen him without even a t-shirt, his beautiful physique nearly always hidden under layers and layers of clothes.

When they'd soothed and wrapped what they could, they made him as comfortable as possible. Making sure that his back was padded from the hard floor of the van, they propped his head on a soft pillow, put more under his legs, then covered him with blankets, tucking them securely, but not too tightly, around his body to help ward off shock.

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When Eliot finally managed to wake up, he found himself in his own bed, back in his own room, back at the HQ. He let out a heavy sigh of relief, finally not having to not worry about someone trying to kill him. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, his eyes moving around the room, his heart nearly stopping when seeing who was in front of him.

Parker was sitting in a chair right beside his bed. She was curled up in a ball, her legs against her chest, eyes closed.

"Parker?!" he exclaimed and Parker's flew open as she jerked awake, nearly falling off the chair.

She leaned forward, a grin on her face and her blue eyes shining. "You're awake," she said softly, sitting forward.

"You...you're a-alive?" he answered back.

She tilted her head like a confused cat and frowned a little. "Um. Yeah?"

"But I heard….Adler had you, he… He tortured you. And Soph… And...and everyone." His words were slow and dazed as his eyes shifted around the room.

"No!" she exclaimed, sitting up straight and shaking her head fervently. "No! Eliot, we're all okay, we're all fine!"

"Wasn't...real?" he asked, his brows furrowing as he finally started to believe that they really were okay.

"I promise," she said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

He closed his eyes and his lips pressed together as the bed dipped under even her slight weight, waking the pains in his entire body. He felt something at his lips and opened his eyes again to see her holding a glass of water up. Opening his mouth, he drank slowly, only managing to finish about half of it before pulling back.

"'S enough," he rasped, panting a little at the effort of drinking a simple glass of water. "Sorry."

"That's okay, Sparky," Parker said, smiling. "I'm just glad you didn't get dead."

He looked over at her to see her happy grin, the brightness of her smile making her positively glow.

"How… How long?" he managed to ask, his throat raw.

"Over a month." Her glow dimmed.

His brows rose at her whispered confession and he felt his jaw drop open a little. "A….month?"

Parker pulled back a little and bit her lip as she nodded. "I missed you," she whispered sadly. "A lot."

"I just can't…. You're alive," he whispered again, his eyes fixed on her face.

"We all are," she said, her voice almost as soft as his.

Eliot raised his hand, his fingertips lightly touching her chin, and then her cheek. The thief didn't move, letting him prove to himself that she was real.

His arm shook with the effort and then finally dropped back to the bed as his exhausted body gave out for the moment.

"I'm sorry."

Parker tilted her head again and frowned a little. "For what?"

"For believing….that you were dead. For letting Adler win."

"You didn't," she shook her head.

"He almost killed me," he breathed, his voice nearly silent.

"But he didn't," she insisted. "You're still alive."

He shook his head. "I gave up," he said, his masks cracking. "I gave up…"

"Eliot," she leaned in to cup his cheek. "Eliot, you never gave up. I could see it in your eyes, you were fiercer than you realize."

His brows furrowed in disbelief but was too weak to argue any further. He took her words into his dreams as he passed out.

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Throughout the next few days whenever he woke up, Parker was there. Her presence became a calming influence on Eliot as he slowly got stronger. It was hard to reconcile the hyper twenty-pounds-of-crazy thief with the attentive blonde who now seemed content to stay near him for whatever he needed.

It took determination for the hitter to regain some of his strength back, but he forced himself to eat whatever the team brought to him and drink as much water as he could to combat the extended deprivation he'd endured. He chafed at his body's need for rest yet realized the need, so as much as he didn't like being inactive, he listened to his body's demands and slept as much as he could.

He began to count on Parker to be there when he woke, and looked forward to seeing her smile. He wondered about the kiss when she had rescued him, but didn't want to bring it up for fear that she would brush it off.

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.

During that time, the rest of the team- minus Parker, who was doing her best to try and take care of their hitter- tried to search for Tony Adler's brother, Greg. With Eliot still healing, they wanted to make sure he was in no other danger. At least for now.

In the end, they found no traces of Greg Channing, and decided to leave the case for the time being. Instead, they wanted to focus on helping Eliot recover, which they knew would take a long time considering what the interrogator had done to him.

.

.

.

In a couple of weeks, he had almost fully recovered, but a new challenge now plagued him: nightmares.

He would wake up every night, sweating and panting from all the severe dreams that haunted him each day. They never let him sleep for very long, waking him up nearly every time he managed to fall asleep, which left him exhausted for the whole day.

At one point, Parker took notice of that and began studying Eliot's behavior, to try to figure out what was going on.

She had been in an air vent just above Eliot's bed when she suddenly heard small whimpers. She scooted closer to the vent cover to take a look and saw Eliot, tossing and turning, muttering her name. She jumped out of the vent and ran to his bed, trying to wake him up.

"Eliot, it's okay. Everything is okay. I'm here!" she pleaded.

Eliot lurched up out of the nightmare, his back stiffly straight and wide eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. His entire body trembled and his breath sawed in and out of his lungs.

"Eliot….Sparky, you're okay," Parker soothed, her voice quiet and calm. Her hands settled gently on his shoulder and he jerked, his head whipping to the side. His eyes were still wide, his pupils blown, but he started to focus on her as she continued to talk to him like he would a spooked horse.

"...par…..Parker?" he finally whispered, his voice harsh. "Parker?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she said, watching his shaking hand rise to touch her cheek. She leaned a little into his touch.

His eyes started to water against his will and she slid her arms around him, pulling him close. His head rested on her shoulder and his hands went around her waist and he held her surprisingly tightly as his shoulders shook, and Parker belatedly realized he was crying. She caressed his hair, her fingers threading through sweat dampened curls until he finally calmed and pulled away, head down in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he rasped, looking away.

"Don't," she said.

He turned his head, looking her with a frown on his face.

"Don't be sorry, Sparky." She cupped his cheek, her thumb sliding softly along his cheekbone.

His eyes dropped to her lips as she spoke and he felt himself leaning forward. He was surprised when he was met halfway, her warm, dry lips landing on his. He heard a soft sigh and he lifted his hand to slide under her hair, settling on the back of her neck as they kissed slowly and gently.

Parker practically felt Eliot's heart beat out of his chest as he kissed her. She brought her hand and entangled it with his hair, wanting this moment to last forever.

The kiss lingered on for about a minute, before they both pulled away.

Eliot stared at Parker with confusion written all over his face. He picked up his hand- which had started to tremble even more than before- and nudged a strand of her hair behind her ear. Parker came in to kiss him one more time, smiling as he returned the motion.

The next thing they knew, they were laying beside each other, Parker's head on his chest, Eliot's hand protectively holding onto her small form.

"Thank you, Parker." Eliot whispered into her ear, kissing the top of her head.

"You're welcome, Eliot." Parker replied, taking his hand.

She lightly drew small patterns on his hand and arm until finally, they were both asleep in each other's arms.

As Eliot drifted into darkness, he thought about everything that had happened. Even throughout all the pain he was put through, he still survived. And with Parker cuddled beside him, he began to understand how… and why.


End file.
